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MIT First Elite Private School to End Mandatory DEI Statements in Hiring

May 6, 2024, 02:00 PM

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has officially discontinued the use of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statements in its faculty hiring and promotion processes. This decision marks MIT as the first elite private institution to eliminate such requirements, previously mandatory, which have been described as ideological filters and have faced significant criticism within academic circles. The move was confirmed by a university spokesperson and follows a private poll among MIT professors, revealing that approximately two-thirds opposed the mandatory statements. Sally Kornbluth, an MIT official, stated, 'We can build an inclusive environment in many ways, but compelled statements impinge on freedom of expression, and they don't work.' Critics argue that while DEI statements are intended to promote inclusivity, they instead infringe on academic freedom and fail to achieve their intended goals.